Tag: #slay

“Wake, Pray, Slay” has become a popular colloquialism among women both young and old. The word “slay” specifically gained favor in pop culture when the world heard it in Beyoncé’s popular song “Formation.” To slay is defined by the Urban dictionary as “killing it, dominating, to succeed in something amazing.” For most Christian women, this is how we would love to master every day: waking up grateful for another day of life, spending time talking with God or meditating on His word, and then leaving out of our homes to head to school or work, passing an exam, rocking a presentation or perhaps being the recipient of a well-deserved promotion. If I may be honest, this is MUCH easier said than done. Why? Because #life. Or how about #adulting?

If you’re anything like me, you might wake up some mornings and rush to the phone or tablet to check email or social media. Sometimes, I oversleep and then just rush around trying to get out of the house on time. Other mornings, I wake up focusing on whatever issue was troubling me before I went to bed. This is not my current reality but some of you are mothers and have children that depend on you to help them “wake, pray, slay” their days. The mornings can be such a busy time and even if we want to wake and pray, we don’t take intentional steps to do so before we head out to slay the day.

A morning routine is critical to having a successful, productive day. There have been dozens of studies on how being intentional in the morning helps a person conquer their school or work day. A morning routine is a set of things one does from the time they wake up until the time they leave the house. We all have a routine, whether it is intentional or not. Is the routine that you have helping you slay your day? Or, is it contributing to the negativity that you experience throughout the day?

Forbes Magazine published an article in May 2018 that discussed a book written by Benjamin Stall and Michael Xander that detailed the morning routines of “super productive” people, My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired. In this book, they described approximately 300 morning rituals and shared insights on how readers could apply these rituals in their own lives. Some of the highlights of the article are that people should be intentional about how they start their mornings, that the routine should be easy to follow, and that people should try many things before settling on a final routine. Bottom line: if we want to slay each day, a morning routine is an important key to being able to do that.

Wake and pray works for me as a routine, and probably will for you if implemented on a consistent basis. I’ll go out on a limb and say it works for most Christian women and men. How many of us find that within a few hours of work we are either frustrated, upset, anxious, worried, and the list goes on. This routine helps me to handle the craziness of #life that pops up in the beginning of my day. There are so many scriptures that tout the benefits of going to God in the morning:

Psalms 5:3- “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning, I will direct it to You. And I will look up.”

When we #wakeandpray, we make room to hear God’s voice and figure out what HE wants us to do.

Ezekiel 12:8- “In the morning, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,”

Spending time with Him in the morning gives Him an opportunity to speak to us all the things we need to slay the day. Worshipping Him during our morning routine helps the Holy Spirit fill us so that we can respond positively to every situation we face during the day.

Psalms 30:5- “Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning.”

No matter what happened to us the previous day, we get to start over in the morning. God gives us a new day! When we #wakeandpray, the Lord refreshes us and our awareness of His joy becomes real.

Psalms 143:8- “Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I entrust my life.”

In the quiet of the morning, before we let in the world, having focused time in the word brings reminders of God’s love, provision and His plan for our lives. He orders our steps and we can trust Him to work out all things for our good.

So, What does Wake, Pray, Slay look like for me?

I get up and drink some water (hydration is important!) before I leave the bed. I go prepare my pre-workout drink. I come back to bed with my drink, my bible and my pens. I pick up reading my bible in the last place I left off or just go wherever I feel led to read. I read for 30-45 minutes then I workout for 30-45 minutes, shower and get dressed for work. While I shower, I listen to a sermon or gospel music to continue to stay connected to God and keep my peace.

By the time I leave the house, I am sufficiently “prayed up!” While I’m driving, the Lord will continue downloading things I need for the day: I rehearse difficult conversations I may need to have, He puts a new dream on my heart, I feel His love and protection. No matter what greets me when I walk into work, I’m prepared all because I did my Wake, Pray, (Workout) Slay routine.

Now, you may not have as much time as I have in the morning. It doesn’t take long to Wake, Pray, Slay. If you only have 20 minutes, read a short devotional or just get ready for your day to praise music or a sermon. Podcasts are a great way to get the word daily! The bible in II Peter 3:8 says “one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day with the Lord.” The Lord will multiply the time you sow when you spend it with Him. I challenge you to develop your own morning routine and watch how your days are transformed with productivity and positivity.